The former hedge fund manager has become a leading underwriter of Democratic causes and candidates. Steyer, who was a major supporter of President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, last year spent millions backing the Democratic candidates in the Virginia gubernatorial election and the special Senate contest in Massachusetts.

So far this cycle he's contributed big bucks to Senate Majority PAC, the leading outside group backing Democratic Senate candidates. And Steyer, who's a major opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline and who hopes to make climate change a major issue in the midterm elections, could spend more than $100 million this year on NextGen Climate Action, his super PAC. The group plans to target Republicans in seven Senate and gubernatorial races this year.

As Steyer's involvement in politics grows, so does criticism of him by Republicans. It mirrors the increasing attacks by Democrats on the freewheeling spending of the billionaire industrialist Koch Brothers, who have dished out nearly $40 million so far this cycle backing GOP candidates and causes and attacking Democrats.

Steyer's San Francisco home has been the site of previous fundraisers headlined by the President, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

After the event at Steyer's private residence, the vice president heads to the posh Fairmont Hotel, high atop San Francisco's Nob Hill, to headline a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Biden is scheduled to team up with Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California for the event, which will benefit the DSCC as well as the campaigns of Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Sen. John Walsh of Montana.

The first-term Hagan faces a challenging re-election this year against North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis. Walsh, Montana's former lieutenant governor, was named to the Senate earlier this year to succeed fellow Democrat Max Baucus, who stepped down to become U.S. ambassador to China. Walsh, who is expected to survive a primary challenge next week, should face a very tough election in November against Republican Rep. Steve Daines.

A Democratic official tells CNN that tickets for the event range from $10,00 to $30,000.

The fundraisers in San Francisco come one day after Biden was in Denver to help raise money for another Democrat who faces a challenging re-election, Sen. Mark Udall. In between, the vice president gave the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

soundoff(17 Responses)

And Steyer is different from the Koches in which way? This is laughable and everything the gang has railed against for months now.

May 28, 2014 03:29 pm at 3:29 pm |

smith

Nice to see our vice president in the pocket of Tom Steyer. Be careful Biden, Soros will be jealous.

May 28, 2014 03:38 pm at 3:38 pm |

Lynda/Minnesota

"As Steyer's involvement in politics grows, so does criticism of him by Republicans. It mirrors the increasing attacks by Democrats on the freewheeling spending of the billionaire industrialist Koch Brothers, who have dished out nearly $40 million so far this cycle backing GOP candidates and causes and attacking Democrats."

Uh-oh. My daddy's bigger than your daddy, eh?

May 28, 2014 03:39 pm at 3:39 pm |

Rick McDaniel

The money comes pouring out of the woodwork.........and the Dems act like they don't get any.

Nice to see there are billionaires who support the people. The rebalancing and security of the middle class and the elderly are more important that most people can imagine. That is the true strength of this country. It isn't the corporations and wealthy 1%. It's on the backs and innovation that come from the 99. That has always been the source of America's true strength and growth. From the middle out.

May 28, 2014 03:47 pm at 3:47 pm |

Sniffit

"So Sniffit's solution is Medicare, a federal program that is already unsustainable and going bankrupt. Putting everybody into it would cost taxpayers $3.7 TRILLION A YEAR based on current expenditures. But let's say it would only be a paltry $2.5 TRILLION per year, where is all that money going to come from?"

Oh brother. Way to mischaracterize what I said, junior. Go learn what people really mean when they say "Medicare for all" instead of just assuming nonsense like "nobody would have to pay into it even if they were 35 years old". Medicare runs with 1.5% to 3% overhead, depending on the study...that's in comparison to the 20% overhead that the ACA limits private insurers to and which is driving insurers crazy because they were milking everyone for much more than that before the ACA. The gov't doesn't pay 8 figure salaries. Guess how that effects the costs of coverage. Insurers do though....and they pay it to people whose sole job is finding new and more tricky ways of denying people coverage. Anyway, anyone reading "Medicare for all" in a literal sense, just isn't informed.

May 28, 2014 03:55 pm at 3:55 pm |

Thomas

Joe ,
please don't run for President .

May 28, 2014 03:56 pm at 3:56 pm |

Sniffit

""As Steyer's involvement in politics grows, so does criticism of him by Republicans. It mirrors the increasing attacks by Democrats on the freewheeling spending of the billionaire industrialist Koch Brothers,"

Good, then we can take a close look at what they spend their money to support and people can start to realize that the Koch brothers are in it for plutocracy. The envision themselves Amurika's most powerful oligarchs. Whereas wealthy folks like Steyer are using their money to support things like higher taxes ON THEMSELVES and responsible environmental and energy policies to preserve the planet and our environment and silly things people take for granted like clean air and drinking water. Bring it on. Make your false equivalence arguments, GOPers/Teatrolls/MSM...we're more than happy and ready to take on that BS.

May 28, 2014 03:58 pm at 3:58 pm |

Sniffit

"And Steyer is different from the Koches in which way? "

The substance of the policies he supports and the altruism behind them.

Thanks for playing. Come again.

Next.

May 28, 2014 03:59 pm at 3:59 pm |

Sniffit

"This is laughable and everything the gang has railed against for months now."

@tom l
And Steyer is different from the Koches in which way? This is laughable and everything the gang has railed against for months now.
---------
The difference is that you can see what Steyer supports. The article gives examples. You may not like the causes but you can see them. The Koch's have been sneaking around through phony "grass roots" groups like most of the Tea Party orgs, and their goal is NOT conservatism. It is profit and nothing else.

May 28, 2014 04:06 pm at 4:06 pm |

Chris-E...al

You know oh joe just might just whip out that double barrel shotgun if he feels in danger and give yall the old one two ?

May 28, 2014 04:10 pm at 4:10 pm |

The REAL Truth...

@Rick McDaniel – The money comes pouring out of the woodwork.........and the Dems act like they don't get any.
----------------------
You expect the Dems to do anything different than the GOP when it comes to fund raising? Naive at best.

May 28, 2014 04:17 pm at 4:17 pm |

tom l

"The difference is that you can see what Steyer supports. The article gives examples. You may not like the causes but you can see them. The Koch's have been sneaking around through phony "grass roots" groups like most of the Tea Party orgs, and their goal is NOT conservatism. It is profit and nothing else."
====

I think it's amazing how all of the liberals on here know everything about Tom Steyer and his intentions...all noble and altruistic, of course. So here are some of the donations the evil Koches have made:

$25 million MD Anderson Cancer research center
$100 million to cancer research at MIT
$100 million o NY Presbyterian hospital
milllions to PBS's Nova Series
$50 million to the Smithsonian
$20 million to NY Museum of Natural History
$100 million to modernize the Lincoln Center

What has Steyer donated to? Other than political campaigns where it costs $10,000-$30,000 to gain political access to democrats. In all of your conversations with Tom Steyer, did he tell you all about his coal money?

May 28, 2014 04:23 pm at 4:23 pm |

Smitty

With all that's going on, Obumbles and the court jester go fund raising. More lip service from the left. @real truth, you just don't get it, Obumbles and the boys are far worsef than the repubs when it comes to fund raising. Yes embassies were attacked under Bush, but he didn't lie about it, Obumbles said he was going to fix the va problem, he has done nothing, transparent ?? gitmo ?? sylendra ?? etc.

May 28, 2014 04:26 pm at 4:26 pm |

smith

@Sniffit-There is no difference between Steyer and Koch Bros. Liberals say the GOP sucks up to the 1% now we know the Dems do as well. So, instead of admitting to your double standard you say in some way they are different.

May 28, 2014 04:27 pm at 4:27 pm |

The REAL Truth...

@Smitty – With all that's going on, Obumbles and the court jester go fund raising. More lip service from the left. @real truth, you just don't get it, Obumbles and the boys are far worsef than the repubs when it comes to fund raising. Yes embassies were attacked under Bush, but he didn't lie about it, Obumbles said he was going to fix the va problem, he has done nothing, transparent ?? gitmo ?? sylendra ?? etc.
------------------------------–
Yawn.. all politicians fund raise, but the predecessor did that while "vacationing" (1050 days in 8 yrs – that's allmost THREE YEARS total) in TX... It's overly naive and juvenile to believe that any POTUS gets to implement all their campaign promises... and that's for those who don't have the most divisive blocking do-nothing Party blocking them and trying to destroy them... time to get educated.